Concrete wall panel building construction



Jan. 11, 1966 F. M- M COWN CONCRETE WALL PANEL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed July 13, 1962 INVENTOR. 16450 M. MCCOWA/ 247 ae/v 5.

United States Patent 3,228,161 CONCRETE WALL PANEL BUILDING CGNSTRUCTION Fred M. McCown, Redlands, Caiif., assignor to Tilt-A- Pac Corporation, Beverly Hills, Calif., a corporation of California Filed July 13, 1962, Ser. No. 209,515 3 Claims. (Cl. 52285) The present invention relates generally to building construction and more particularly to novel improvements in that field wherein concrete panels are used to form building walls.

Concrete panels are increasingly used for building walls, and the tilt-up technique is well known whereby wall panels are poured horizontally on a suitable bed and, after curing, are hoisted or tilted into vertical orientation. They are there fixed in alignment with other such panels to form a wall, and pilasters are formed in the juncture zone between adjacent panels, typically by pouring concrete into vertically extending forms so that successive panels and the pilasters constitute continuous concrete members extending the length of a buildin Thus the wall, which may extend several hundred feet or more, is effectively a monolithic structure, and is subject to damage in the form of cracking or even breaking by a number of causes such as earth movements, sonic booms from jet aircraft, temperature expansion and contraction and the like.

The present invention is intended to minimize and virtually eliminate the disadvantageous characteristics of which the above noted are exemplary, and to further provide additional advantages of strength, speed and economy of construction not available in prior practice using concrete wall panels. The illustrative embodiment of the invention hereinafter described and illustrated in detail contemplates use of panels which are generally rectangular slabs of concrete having parallel inner and outer planar faces. It will be understood however that openings such as for doors or windows can be provided by appropriate forming means during pouring as is well known in the art, and the panel faces may be decoratively contoured as by fiuting or the like on the pouring bed. Moreover the panels may be formed with curvilinear faces to construct, for example, a building having portions of its walls concave or convex.

A typical panel in accordance with the invention has a pair of parallel side edges formed by longitudinally extending rigid members or shoes such as steel channels receiving therewithin marginal portions of the concrete slab proper. In at least one of the channels there is provided a quanity of material which is at least somewhat yieldable, for example Celotex or an equivalent substance, which effectively spaces the concrete edge face laterally away from the inner channel face. Thus a certain amount of relative lateral movement can take place between the concrete slab edge and the rigid shoe receiving marginal portions of that edge. Means are desirably provided to prevent relative movement in a direction longitudinally of the shoe, preferably in the form of smooth surfaced elongated elements of metal fixed at their outer ends to the shoe and projecting horizontally inwardly into the concrete slab. Such elements are desirably coated with a parting substance or bond break to permit axial movement of the elements relative to the slab after the concrete has set.

The rigid shoe or channel member receiving marginal portions of the opposite edge of the slab is desirably provided with steel reinforcing bars fixed to the shoe at their outer ends and projecting inwardly of the slab, being embedded therein when the slab is poured in accordance 3,228,161 Patented Jan. 11, 1966 with known construction. Such bars preferably have known surface protuberances or are otherwise configured to form a rigid connection with the slab body, and they may be tied, as by welding or the like, to reinforcing bars embedded in the slab body and extending generally parallel to the shoe, forming a reinforcing grid in the body. A layer of yieldable material may also be provided in the concave portion of the shoe channel, but obviously it will not serve as effectively as the corresponding layer in the channel first referred to, in permitting lateral movement of the slab relative to the channel.

When panels so constructed are supported in aligned vertical orientation to form a multi-panel wall, the outer faces of channel shoes of adjacent panels are placed in abutting relation and their juxtaposed corners may now be welded, preferably on both the inner and outer faces, to permanently tie the panels together. The juxtaposed channel shoes so welded constitute rigid, strong pilasters, and may accordingly be used to support other structural members of the completed building such as beams and girders for the building roof.

A modular construction is thus provided, and each panel may be of an appropriate width to permit it to be made at a central point and then trucked or otherwise transported to the job site to be raised into position and fixed as above described. For example a panel ten feet wide, when trucked with that dimension vertical, would be permitted under at least some highway regulations.

Accordingly it is a principal object of the invention to provide novel improvements in concrete panel construction for buildings and the like. Other objects are to disclose, in such construction, means permitting some degree of lateral movement of one panel relative to adjacent panels and to thereby minimize panel damage in use; to disclose construction providing strong pilasters at modular distances along a completed wall to support other building members; and for additional purposes as will be understood from a reading of the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view from within of a corner portion of a building showing a panel and portions of two adjacent panels in accordance with the present invention, with portions broken away for clarity of illustration.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on line I-III of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 i a fragmentary sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on line III-III of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a typical support chair attached to and carried by the steel channel shoes of the present invention; a portion of a generally horizontal extending beam or the like supported by the chair is shown in dotted outline.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, and first to FIG. 1, there is there indicated generally at 10 a wall panel in accordance with the present invention and indicated generally at 12 is a fragmentary portion of a second wall panel in aligned abutting relation with panel 10. As will be understood by reference to FIG. 3, the view of FIG. 1 is taken from inside a building, loo-king into a corner thereof. Thus a fragmentary portion of a third wall panel projecting toward the viewer as seen in FIG. 1 is indicated generally at 14.

The vertically extending sides of panel 10 are defined by steel channel members or shoes indicated generally at 20 and 22, desirably having a shape as seen in section of an inwardly directed U, whereby marginal edge portions or strips of the concrete body of panel 10 are received within the channel. Thus, with respect to channel 20, the central web portion 26 extends between and is formed integrally with the outer wall portion 28 and the inner Wall portion 30, the latter two portion extending in parallel relation as seen in FIG. 2. Similarly in the case of channel 22, as best seen in FIG. 3, the central web 'portion 32 extends between the integral outer wall portion 34 and inner wall portion 36. Within the cavity thus formed, and immediately adjacent the Web 32, there is a layer or lining of compressible material 40 which may for example be fibrous paper board or the like of the nature of Celotex. The compressible layer 40 may in a typical embodiment of the invention have a thickness of about 1 inch, where the overall thickness of the concrete panel, from its inner face to its outer face, is in the range of 4 inches to 6 inches.

Means are provided for maintaining the concrete body portion of panel in alignment with channel 22, while permitting a small amount of relative lateral movement between those two members. In the present embodiment of the invention, such means include one or more smoothsurfaced elongated elements such as rods or the like fixed at their outer ends to the inner surface of the web 32 and projecting horizontally inwardly into the concrete body of the panel. One of such elements is seen in FIG. 3 and is indicated at 42, desirably being provided at its end adjacent the web 32 with a down-turned leg 44 (see FIG. 1) which is welded or otherwise fixed to web 32 as indicated at 46. It will be understood that rod 42, as well as other corresponding rod some of which are indicated at 48 in FIG. 1, are fixed in place relative to the channel shoe 22 before the concrete panel is poured on a casting bed or the like, and a small amount of resilient material 50 may be added to the innermost end of rod 42 in order that there be some clearance between its end and the nearby wall of concrete. Additionally, the elernent 42 is coated with a suitable parting material or bond break to minimize adherence of the concrete to the rod as the concrete cure and sets.

Whereas the means just described permit a certain amount of lateral movement between the concrete body of the panel 10 and channel shoe 22, the construction at the opposite edge portion of the panel does not permit such relative movement. Thus, with reference to FIG. 2 and channel there seen in section, mean are provided for fixing the concrete body portion of panel 10 relative to the channel 20. In the present embodiment of the invention such means include a number of steel reinforcing bars of conventional construction having outer end portions fixed to the web 26 of channel 20 and projecting inwardly into the concrete body portion of the panel. Reinforcing bar 60 has a down-turned leg 62 (see FIG. 1) fixed by suitable means such as welds 64 to the web 26, and is provided along its length embedded in the concrete body with a number of protuberances 66 at spaced intervals. Additional such reinforcing bars may be provided along the length of channel 20, the lowermost such bar being indicated at 70 and having its down-turned leg 72 Welded to the web of channel 20 as previously described. Additional reinforcing bars may be provided in the body portion of the panel extending generally vertically when the panel is in its vertical position. Thus one such vertically extending reinforcing bar is indicated at 76 and is desirably fixed as by welding to the inwardly projecting reinforcing bars such as 60, 70 and others as may be used.

Within the concave space defined by channel 20, there may be provided a lining or layer of somewhat compressible material indicated at 80 and corresponding in construction to lining 40 previously described. Although relative movement between the concrete body of panel 10 and channel 20 is substantially inhibited by reason of the reinforcing bars such as bar 60, nevertheless the lining 80 may be desirable to minimize the possibility of cracking or breaking of the concrete received within the channel 20, in the event of sharp earth movement or other circumstance which would otherwise do substantial damage to the wall panels.

With further reference to FIG. 2, wall panel 12 is desirably identical to wall panel 10 previously described, and includes at its right side as seen in the figures, a vertically extending steel channel indicated generally at and including web portion 92 extending between and formed integrally with side wall portions 94 and 96, the latter extending in parallel relation as shown. When the two panels 10 and 12 are arranged in abutting relation as seen in FIG. 2, the Webs 26 and 92 are in abutting contact and the two channels are then welded in place as by welds 97 and 98. It will be understood that the welds may be ground down to the level of the outer faces of the side portion of the channels, and of the faces of the concrete body portions of the panels themselves, so that the wall, both on its inner and outer surface, will be fiat and uninterrupted by irregularities.

With further reference to FIG. 3 and the corner construction there shown, it will be seen that wall panel 14 includes a channel indicated generally at 100 and having a web portion 102 extending between the parallel side wall portions 104 and 106. Web 102 is placed in abutting contact with the outer surface of the side wall portion 36 of channel 22, and the two members are then permanently joined by suitable means such as Welds 108 and 109. It will again be observed that the outer and inner surfaces of the walls at the corners are flush when the welds have been ground down even with the remaining wall surfaces so that there is no interference with the beauty of the finished building.

It will be understood that slight relative movement between the concrete body portion of a panel and one of its channel shoes may cause a small crumbling of the concrete in the immediate vicinity of the ends of the channel side walls. Thus in FIG. 3, reference characters 110 and 112 indicate portions of the concrete panel which might be so effected during such movement. In this case, the walls can be easily repaired by a grouting mixture, so that the appearance of the structure can be completely restored to its former condition.

The welded channel members of adjacent wall panels constitute pilasters which may be used for the support of bracket elements and the like which in turn carry other structural members of the building, particularly portions of the roof thereof. In FIG. 4 a steel chair of known design is indicated generally at and includes side walls 122 and 124 which are fixed as by welding to the exposed surfaces of the channel side walls 96 and 30. The upper fiat surface of chair 120 is then available for support and attachment to a roof element or the like indicated generally at and shown in dotted outline, since no Zpecific structural member is intended to be shown there- The wall panels in accordance with the present invention are readily formed on a casting bed, with the reinforcing bars and guide rods such as 42 held in place during pouring and thus embedded in the conclete when set. The panels when erected may rest upon a suitable foundation indicated generally at 140, which may desirably be in a trench, so that the finished grade will be at some higher level, as dictated by architectural and other considerations. Modifications and changes not departing from the spirit of the invention may occur to those skilled in the art and are intended to be embraced Within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A building wall including a plurality of panels,

each panel comprising a concrete slab having generally parallel front and rear faces and two laterally spaced vertically disposed side edges,

a longitudinally extending metal channel member of U-shaped section along each of said two side edges, each member including a web portion extending parallel to a slab side edge and spaced parallel portions overlying marginal strips of the slab adjacent the side edge, the web portion of one of said members being spaced from the surface of its slab side edge,

a plurality of smooth surfaced elongated metal elements having their outer ends fixed to said one channel member at points spaced therealong and projecting horizontally and in parallel relation into the slab in unbonded slidable relation therewith,

a layer of compressible material in the space between the Web portion of said one channel member and said slab side edge surface,

and means fixed to the other channel member and projecting into and rigidly embedded in the panel slab for fixing said other channel member to the slab;

adjacent panels in the wall being held in assembled relation by rigidly fixing one of said portions of the first named channel member of one panel in juxtaposed relation with one of said portions of the second named channel member of the adjacent panel.

2. The invention as stated in claim 1 wherein said adjacent panels are in aligned coplanar relation.

3. The invention as stated in claim 1 wherein said adjacent panels lie in angularly related planes to form a building corner.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 928,343 7/1909 Stutz -346 X 909,963 5/1911 Daley 50-346 1,637,215 7/1927 Coppock 94-12 1,658,154 2/1928 Armbruster 50-136 X 1,796,048 3/ 1931 Robinson 50-437 1,999,741 4/1935 Schultz 50-437 X 2,160,225 5/1939 Newman 50-346 X 2,305,979 12/1942 Mitchell 50-346 X 2,321,813 6/1943 Henzel 50-415 2,328,155 8/1943 Le Tourneau 94-18 X 2,664,740 1/ 1954 Cochrane 50-437 X 2,883,852 4/1959 Midby 50-437 2,986,848 6/1961 Greene 50-437 X FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner.

HENRY C. SUTHERLAND, Examiner. 

1. A BUILDING WALL INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF PANELS, EACH PANEL COMPRISING A CONCRETE SLAB HAVING GENERALLY PARALLEL FRONT AND REAR FACES AND TWO LATERALLY SPACED VERTICALLY DISPOSED SIDE EDGES, A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING METAL CHANNEL MEMBER OF U-SHAPED SECTION ALONG EACH OF SAID TWO SIDE EDGES, EACH MEMBER INCLUDING A WEB PORTION EXTENDING PARALLEL TO A SLAB SIDE EDGE AND SPACED PARALLEL PORTIONS OVERLYING MARGINAL STRIPS OF THE SLAB ADJACENT THE SIDE EDGE, THE WEB PORTION OF ONE OF SAID MEMBERS BEING SPACED FROM THE SURFACE OF ITS SLAB SIDE EDGE, A PLURALITY OF SMOOTH SURFACED ELONGATED METAL ELEMENTS HAVING THEIR OUTER ENDS FIXED TO SAID ONE CHANNEL MEMBER AT POINTS SPACED THEREALONG AND PROJECTING HORIZONTALLY AND IN PARALLEL RELATION INTO THE SLAB IN UNBONDED SLIDABLE RELATION THEREWITH, A LAYER OF COMPRESSIBLE MATERIAL IN THE SPACE BETWEEN THE WEB PORTION OF SAID ONE CHANNEL MEMBER AND SAID SLAB SIDE EDGE SURFACE, AND MEANS FIXED TO THE OTHER CHANNEL MEMBER AND PROJECTING INTO AND RIGIDLY EMBEDDED IN THE PANEL SLAB FOR FIXING AND OTHER CHANNEL MEMBER TO THE SLAB; ADJACENT PANELS IN THE WALL BEING HELD IN ASSEMBLED RELATION BY RIGIDLY FIXING ONE OF SAID PORTIONS OF THE FIRST NAMED CHANNEL MEMBER OF ONE PANEL IN JUXTAPOSED RELATION WITH ONE OF SAID PORTIONS OF THE SECAND NAMED CHANNEL MEMBER OF THE ADJACENT PANEL. 